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At least 541 records · Page 30

Coso Geothermal Spectral Library for Rocks and Minerals

An integrated open mineral spectral library designed to enhance the utility and precision of mineral spectral data for geothermal exploration, developed from a reliable and comprehensive digital dataset for seamless sharing by integrating field data, the USGS spectral library, and pertinent information obtained from Coso geothermal field (Coso) in California. The ASD FieldSpec portable spectrometer was utilized for collecting spectral data, which was subsequently analyzed using the THOR Material Identification tool in ENVI, The Spectral Geologist (TSG) software by CSIRO, and the Fully Constrained Linear Spectral Unmixing algorithm (FCLSU) in MATLAB. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with a mineralogy-analyzing function was employed to assess the mineral composition of samples, ensuring precise mineralogical analysis. A portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer was also utilized to gather information on elemental enrichment. A framework for developing spectra data and establishing spectral libraries for various geological cases was proposed within this study. The characteristic spectra of six alteration minerals - alunite, chalcedony, epidote, hematite, kaolinite, and opal - were acquired from Coso samples. The spectral library for the Coso alteration minerals was introduced for further application in academic study or industrial exploration. To browse the Coso Geothermal Spectral data and related figures from spreadsheets: #1 Unzip and store the following items in the same folder. 'Contact Probe Data.zip', 'Sample Photos.zip', and 'Coso spectra of higher-certainity minerals.xlsx'. #2 Open 'Coso spectra of higher-certainity minerals.xlsx'. The hyperlinks in the spreadsheet lead to the folders or figures of: spectra .asd file, spectra ASC II file, spectra plots, and sample photos. The spectra data is raw data without splice correction. Spectra .asd files require particular software to open. (These cannot be opened in GIS software such as ArcGIS.) Spectra ASC II files can be opened in a text editor or spread sheet program.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Interplay of River and Tidal Forcings Promotes Loops in Coastal Channel Networks

We report the dense populations that inhabit global coastlines have an uncertain future due to increased flooding, storms, and human modification. The channel networks of deltas and marshes that plumb these coastlines present diverse architectures, including well-studied dendritic topologies. However, the quasi-stable loops that exist in nearly all coastal networks have not yet been explained. We present a model for self-organizing networks inspired by vascular biophysics to show that loops emerge when the relative forcings between rivers and tides are comparable, resulting in interplay between hydrodynamic forcings at short time scales relative to network evolution. Using field data and satellite imaging, we confirm this control on 21 field networks. Our comparison provides compelling evidence that hydrodynamic fluctuations are capable of stabilizing loops in geophysical systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA research programs responding to workshop recommendations

The atmospheric electricity and lightning committee forecasts lightning and dissemination of information on the probability of occurrence. A data source with the F-106 flight program was established. The objective is to improve the detectability of lightning and severe storms and help develop operational avoidance procedures and to study the use of satellite and Doppler radar to detect thunderstorms and forecast the probability of lightning. Three recommendations are made: (1) to establish a national flying lightning laboratory; (2) strike models are considered and to gather strike data; (3) to find the best way to apply electrical field data to operations.

Tobiason, A. R.↗

Observations of the magnetic field and plasma flow in Jupiter's magnetosheath

A comprehensive description is given of the Jovian MS magnetic fields, and explanations of these phenomena are proposed. While emphasizing Voyager 1 and 2 magnetic field observations and their relations to the plasma observations, it is also shown that the same phenomena are present in the Pioneer 10 magnetic field data. An unusually high occurrence of nearly north or south fields is observed in the outbound MS, especially in the vicinity of the MP. It is noted that the outbound MS fields and their variations tend to occur in a plane parallel to the local MP, according to large scale MP models.

Lepping, R. P.↗

Satellite observations of Pi 2 activity at synchronous orbit

An attempt is made to characterize Pi 2 activity at synchronous orbit, on the basis of magnetic field data recorded in September, 1974. Pi 2 bursts are primarily seen in the nighttime sector, probably near 2100 LT, and are usually simultaneous with the Pi 2 bursts seen at midlatitude ground stations. Three main event types are noted at the data-gathering satellite: a 100-sec irregular oscillation in all field components, an additional 100-sec irregular oscillation which, unlike the first, is not accompanied by high frequency oscillations, and a much rarer, quasi-sinusoidal oscillation in the east-west component of the field. The dominant period of Pi 2 bursts is about 100 sec, and tends to be shorter as the level of activity measured by field changes at the satellite increases.

Sakurai, T.↗

NASA's Role in the North American Carbon Program

NASA's participation in the North American Carbon Program will include a significant effort for quantifying terrestrial and adjacent ocean sources and sinks of carbon using a variety of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements. This effort will require improved remote sensing algorithms, new measurement technologies, refined model parameterizations of carbon cycle processes, advanced satellite data assimilation methodologies, and a data management strategy. NASA's plan for pursuing these activities will be presented. Examples of NASA data management capabilities such as the SeaWiFS on-line field data system will be discussed.

McClain, Charles R.↗

Space-based Ornithology-Studying Bird Migration and Environmental Change in North America

Natural fluctuations in the availability of critical stopover sites coupled with anthropogenic destruction of wetlands, land-use change, and anticipated losses due to climate change present migratory birds with a formidable challenge. We have developed an individual-based, spatially explicit bird migration model that simulates the migration routes, timing and energy budgets of individual birds under dynamic weather and land surface conditions. Our model incorporates biophysical constraints, individual bird energy status, bird behavior, and flight aerodynamics. We model the speed, direction, and timing of individual birds moving through a user specified Lagrangian grid. The model incorporates environmental properties including wind speed and direction, topography, dynamic hydrologic properties of the landscape, and environmental suitability. The model is driven by important variables estimated from satellite observations of the land surface, by data assimilation products from weather and climate models, and biological field data. We illustrate the use of the model to study the impact of both short- and long-term environmental variatios, e.g. climate, drought, anthropogenic, on migration timing (phenology), spatial pattern, and fitness (survival and reproductive success). We present several theoretical simulations of the spring migration of Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) in North America with emphasis on the Central flyway from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska.

Smith, James↗

Interoperability of Heliophysics Virtual Observatories

If you'd like to find interrelated heliophysics (also known as space and solar physics) data for a research project that spans, for example, magnetic field data and charged particle data from multiple satellites located near a given place and at approximately the same time, how easy is this to do? There are probably hundreds of data sets scattered in archives around the world that might be relevant. Is there an optimal way to search these archives and find what you want? There are a number of virtual observatories (VOs) now in existence that maintain knowledge of the data available in subdisciplines of heliophysics. The data may be widely scattered among various data centers, but the VOs have knowledge of what is available and how to get to it. The problem is that research projects might require data from a number of subdisciplines. Is there a way to search multiple VOs at once and obtain what is needed quickly? To do this requires a common way of describing the data such that a search using a common term will find all data that relate to the common term. This common language is contained within a data model developed for all of heliophysics and known as the SPASE (Space Physics Archive Search and Extract) Data Model. NASA has funded the main part of the development of SPASE but other groups have put resources into it as well. How well is this working? We will review the use of SPASE and how well the goal of locating and retrieving data within the heliophysics community is being achieved. Can the VOs truly be made interoperable despite being developed by so many diverse groups?

Thieman, J.↗

Insights Into the Hydrology of the Congo Peatlands Through Land Surface Modeling and Data Assimilation

The 16.8 million ha of peatlands in the Cuvette Centrale wetland complex in the Congo Basin is one of the largest peatland regions on Earth but still highly understudied. Understanding the hydrological functioning of these peatlands and the effects of external disturbances thereon remains a major challenge. Recent research suggested fundamental hydrological differences between the Congo peatlands and the well-studied Southeast Asian peatlands. The Congo peatlands have a doming gradient that is up to ten times smaller, and they are influenced by river hydrology to some extent. In this study, we explore the Congo peatland hydrology through land surface modeling and data assimilation. We build upon our recently developed tropical PEATCLSM module (Apers et al., 2022) that was parameterized based on data from Southeast Asian peatlands due to the lack of field data from other tropical peatland regions. In a first step, we derive Congo-specific peat hydraulic and discharge function parameters from a scalar parametrization of water level dynamics in the Congo peatlands, using observed water level data at two locations. These Congo-specific parameters differ considerably from the original literature-based parameters from Southeast Asian peatlands. In a second step, we apply our original and Congo-specific parameters in an assimilation scheme for L-band brightness temperature (Tb) data from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. The data assimilation results are used in two ways. First, the effect of these parameters on the simulated peatland hydrology and the observation-minus-forecast Tb residuals is evaluated. It is hypothesized that the new parameters reduce the previously reported modeling errors over the Congo peatlands and reduce the residuals in Tb as well. Second, we analyze the data assimilation diagnostics to learn about other model improvement possibilities. In preliminary results, we found long periods of temporally autocorrelated total water storage increments (difference of pre- and post-update) that coincided with anomalies in river stages measured upstream of the peatlands. Since PEATLCSM neglects possible river influence, this concurrence suggests that the typically used grid-based approach of land surface models should be combined with a river routing scheme over the Congo peatlands.

Sebastian Apers↗

Using Machine Learning to Predict Future Temperature Outputs in Geothermal Systems

Optimizing the power output, and economic value, of geothermal power plants over decades of operation is a major challenge in renewable energy. Optimizing the output requires the ability to predict the mass flow rates and the output temperatures of production wells based on the inputs of injection wells, as well as the time history of the system. Machine Learning (ML) that incorporates the known physics of geothermal systems is one possible solution to this challenge. In this work, we explore the ability of ML algorithms to predict future temperature outputs based on historical data. Considering the challenges with obtaining an empirical dataset from field data that is large enough to enable reliable ML, we propose an alternate approach: developing a high-fidelity reservoir model and using computational resources to build a dataset that enables ML. As a first step towards achieving this goal, we present preliminary results from applying ML to predict the temperature timeseries of simple modeled geothermal systems. We describe the application of relevant state-of-the-art ML approaches, such as the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), to extract temporal structures in the model data. We assess the accuracy of the forecasts we obtain, compare the selected approaches, and share the lessons learned that would inform the process of training and utilizing ML algorithms for larger and more complex geothermal systems.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Environmental Barrier Coatings for Ceramic Matrix Composites - An Overview

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are increasingly being considered as structural materials for advanced power generation equipment. Broadly speaking the two classes of materials are oxide-based CMCs and non-oxide based CMCs. The non-oxide CMCs are primarily silicon-based. Under conditions prevalent in the gas turbine hot section the water vapor formed in the combustion of gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons reacts with the surface-SiO2 to form volatile products. Progressive surface recession of the SiC-SiC CMC component, strength loss as a result of wall thinning and chemical changes in the component occur, which leads to the loss of structural integrity and mechanical strength and becomes life limiting to the equipment in service. The solutions pursued to improve the life of SiC-SiC CMCs include the incorporation of an external barrier coating to provide surface protection to the CMC substrate. The coating system has become known as an Environmental Barrier Coating (EBC). The relevant early coatings work was focused on coatings for corrosion protection of silicon-based monolithic ceramics operating under severely corrosive conditions. The development of EBCs for gas turbine hot section components was built on the early work for silicon-based monolithics. The first generation EBC is a three-layer coating, which in its simplest configuration consists of a silicon (Si) base coat applied on top of the CMC, a barium-strontium-aluminosilicate (BSAS) surface coat resistant to water vapor attack, and a mullite-based intermediate coating layer between the Si base coat and BSAS top coat. This system can be represented as Si-Mullite-BSAS. While this baseline EBC presented a significant improvement over the uncoated SiC-SiC CMC, for the very long durations of 3-4 years or more expected for industrial operation further improvements in coating durability are desirable. Also, for very demanding applications with higher component temperatures but shorter service lives more rugged EBCs will be necessary. A second generation of EBCs incorporates rare earth silicates which have extremely favorable resistance against environmental attack and a higher temperature capability. Performance data for this class of EBCs is more limited and especially field data are not as extensive as for the first generation EBCs. Extensive laboratory, rig and engine testing, including testing of EBC coated SiC-SiC CMCs in actual field applications is in progress. The development of next generation EBCs with even higher temperature capability than the second generation EBC is also underway. This paper will discuss the current status of EBC technology and future direction based on literature survey.

Laboratory↗

Interplanetary magnetic field power spectra - Mean field radial or perpendicular to radial

A detailed frequency analysis of Pioneer-6 interplanetary magnetic field data is carried out for 5 to 15 hour periods during which the mean interplanetary field is approximately radial or perpendicular to radial. The reason why these data sets were chosen is that by making the usual assumption that the phase speed of any wave present is much less than the mean solar wind speed, the measured frequency spectra can be interpreted in terms of the wave number parallel or perpendicular to the mean field, without such additional assumptions as isotropy or the dominance of a particular mode and without measurements of velocity and density. The details of the calculation of the magnetic field power spectra, coherencies, and correlation functions are discussed, along with results obtained directly from the data (such as spectra, slopes, anisotropies, and coherencies). The results are interpreted in terms of MHD theory, and are related to work in other areas.

Sari, J. W.↗

Geodynamics branch data base for main magnetic field analysis

The data sets used in geomagnetic field modeling at GSFC are described. Data are measured and obtained from a variety of information and sources. For clarity, data sets from different sources are categorized and processed separately. The data base is composed of magnetic observatory data, surface data, high quality aeromagnetic, high quality total intensity marine data, satellite data, and repeat data. These individual data categories are described in detail in a series of notebooks in the Geodynamics Branch, GSFC. This catalog reviews the original data sets, the processing history, and the final data sets available for each individual category of the data base and is to be used as a reference manual for the notebooks. Each data type used in geomagnetic field modeling has varying levels of complexity requiring specialized processing routines for satellite and observatory data and two general routines for processing aeromagnetic, marine, land survey, and repeat data.

Langel, Robert A.↗

A New Model of the Crustal Magnetic Field of Mars Using MGS and MAVEN

While devoid of an active magnetic dynamo field today, Mars possesses a remanent magnetic field that may reach several thousand nanoteslas locally. The exact origin and the events that have shaped the crustal magnetization remain largely enigmatic. Three magnetic field data sets from two spacecraft collected over 13 cumulative years have sampled the Martian magnetic field over a range of altitudes from 90 up to 6,000 km: (a) Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) magnetometer (1997–2006), (b) MGS Electron Reflectometer (1999–2006), and (c) Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) magnetometer (2014 to today). In this paper we combine these complementary data sets for the first time to build a new model of the Martian internal magnetic field. This new model improves upon previous ones in several aspects: comprehensive data coverage, refined data selection scheme, modified modeling scheme, discrete-to-continuous transformation of the model, and increased model resolution. The new model has a spatial resolution of ∼160 km at the surface, corresponding to spherical harmonic degree 134. It shows small scales and well-defined features, which can now be associated with geological signatures.

Magnetic↗

Operation of the Planetary Plasma Interactions Node of the Planetary Data System

Five years ago NASA selected the Planetary Plasma Interactions (PPI) Node at UCLA to help the scientific community locate, access and preserve particles and fields data from planetary missions. We propose to continue to serve for 5 more years. During the first five years we have served the scientific community by providing them with high quality data products. We worked with missions and individual scientists to secure the highest quality data possible and to thoroughly document it. We validated the data, placed it on long lasting media and made sure it was properly archived for future use. So far we have prepared and archived over 10(exp 11) bytes of data from 26 instruments on 4 spacecraft. We have produced 106 CD-ROMs with peer reviewed data. In so doing, we have developed an efficient system to prepare and archive the data and thereby have been able to steadily increase the rate at which the data are produced. Although we produced a substantial archive during the initial five years, we have an even larger amount of work in progress. This includes preparing CD-ROM data sets with all of the Voyager, Pioneer and Ulysses data at Jupiter and Saturn. We will have the Jupiter data ready for the Galileo encounter in December, 1995. We are also completing the Pioneer Venus data restoration. The Galileo Venus archive and radio science data from Magellan will be prepared early in the next period. We are assisting the Small Bodies Node of PDS in the preparation of comet data and will be archiving the asteroid data from Galileo. We will be moving in several new directions as well. We will archive the PPI Node's first Earth based data with data from the International Jupiter Watch and Hubble data taken in support of Ulysses particles and field observations. We will work with the Cassini mission in archive planning efforts. For the inner planets we will begin an archive of Mars data starting with Phobos data and will support the US and Russian Mars missions in the late 1990's. We will restore the Mercury data from Mariner 10 and prepare the lunar data from Clementine in time for the lunar data analysis program in 1995. We will work with the Discovery mission teams to plan their archive and have already started with one, NEAR. Finally we will begin archiving our first heliospheric data from Voyager, Galileo, and Mars observers. We will continue to serve the science community by providing access to the data products. During the past 19 months we have filled nearly 6000 requests for on-line and CD-ROM data. The data delivered directly by the PPI Node has been - 5 x 10(exp 11) bytes. In addition to providing the data, we have provided users with software tools to manage and read the data which are computer, operating system and format independent. We have developed scalable systems so that the same software we use to manage and access the data for the entire PPI Node can be used by individual investigators to manage the data on a single CD-ROM, thereby greatly reducing the software development effort for both the PPI Node and users. We deliver this software with the disks. Recent technical advances have made it possible for us to serve a broader community than before. In the next five year period we plan to extend our outreach to the general public and in particular to increase our support for education. Since planetary plasma data are varied and require expertise in many areas the PPI Node will continue to be distributed. In addition to the primary node at UCLA, the PPI Node has three subnodes with an Outer Planets Subnode at the University of Iowa, an Inner Planets Subnode at UCLA, and a Radio Science Subnode at Stanford University. During the first two years of the renewal period there will be a Radio Astronomy Data Node at GSFC. These organizations will provide scientific expertise on the data, participate in node data selection activities and help with data restoration and mission activities.

Walker, Raymond J.↗

Force, mass, and energy budgets of the Crary Ice Rise complex, Antarctica

The stress, mass, and energy-dissipation budgets of Crary Ice Rise are analyzed using field data collected during the 1983-1985 austral summers and in previous field programs. In addition, the net back pressure and ice-discharge rate along the grounding lines of ice streams are calculated to assess the effect of the ice rise on the surrounding flow. Comparison of the ice-rise budgets with the analysis of grounding-line data confirms the influence of the ice rise on ice-sheet stability, and suggests that Crary Ice Rise may have formed recently in response to an acceleration of one of the ice streams. It is concluded that feedback between ice-stream acceleration and ice-rise formation may control the future evolution of the above ice stream and promote long-term grounding-line stability in the face of strong natural fluctuations.

Macayeal, D. R.↗